Israel vows to continue airstrikes despite international concern

In
spite of outcries from the international community -- Israel is not
backing down. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed four more
Palestinians. The ongoing four-day offensive has claimed at least 102
lives. This figure includes dozens of civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared at a news conference that Israel will continue its offensive until rocket fire out of Gaza is halted.

The international community has expressed its concern and has called on both Israel and the Palestinians to end the aggression.

United States President Barack Obama told Netanyahu by telephone that the United States was willing to help negotiate a cease-fire. "Nobody wants to see a ground invasion," a spokeswoman for Secretary of State John Kerry said.

An airstrike on a house in Gaza City killed a man. The victim was described by Palestinian officials as a doctor and pharmacist. An Israeli aircraft also reportedly bombed a three-story house in the southern town of Rafah, killing three people.

Medical officials in Gaza said at least 70 civilians, including children, are among the 102 killed since the offensive began Tuesday.

The salvos into Israel have so far caused no fatalities. Interception by Israel's partly U.S.-funded Iron Dome aerial defense system is being credited.

Eight people were wounded, one seriously, by a rocket that hit a fuel tanker at a gas station in Israel's port city of Ashdod.

Determined to end Palestinian rocket attacks deep into the Israel, leaders have hinted that they could order the first ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in five years.

Some 20,000 Israeli army reservists have been mobilized, and the military said it launched fresh air and naval strikes early Friday, giving no further details. The military has carried out more than 1,000 strikes against Gaza targets during the offensive.

Pope Francis Prayer Intentions for July 2015
Universal: That political responsibility may be lived at all levels as a high form of charity.
Evangelization: That, amid social inequalities, Latin American Christians may bear witness to love for the poor and contribute to a more fraternal society.

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